Continuously reinforced concrete paving apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for directly forming continuously reinforced concrete paving, i.e., paving having imbedded therein essentially continuous spaced parallel longitudinal reinforcing rods, characterized by a series of transversely spaced members carried by a conventional paving machine and each having a rod guiding groove or channel disposed longitudinally of the road site for receiving and guiding a reinforcing rod into its final intended position in the concrete mass, both vertically and horizontally, as the paving machine advances along the road site.

O United States Patent 1 3,566,758

[72] lnventor Glen E. Perkins 2,996,963 8/1961 Stultz 94/39 1428 40th Ave., Rock Island, Ill. 61201 3,161,l 17 12/1964 Supject 94/46 [21] Appl. No. 820,214 3,274,906 9/1966 Worson 94/46 [22] Filed Apr. 29,1969 3,329,073 7/1967 Devereaux 94/39 [45] Patented Mar. 2, 1971 3,331,296 7/1967 Perkins 94/39 Primary Examiner-Jacob L. Nackenoff Attorney-Gary, Parker, Jucttner, Plgott & Cullman PAVING APPARATUS 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] 94/39 ABSTRACT: Apparatus for directly forming continuously -Emc19/00 reinforced concrete paving, i.e., paving having imbedded 94439146 therein essentially continuous spaced parallel longitudinal reinforcing rods, characterized by a series of transversely [56] References cued spaced members carried by a conventional paving machine UNITED STATES PATENTS and each having a rod guiding groove or channel disposed lon- 1,546,107 7/1925 Robb 94/39 gitudinally of the road site for receiving and guiding a rein- 2,077,356 4/1937 Day 94/39 forcing rod into its final intended position in the concrete 2,384,395 9/ 1945 Payne 94/39 mass, both vertically and horizontally, as the paving machine 2,544,l 13 3/1951 Snead 94/44 advances along the road site.

if I 24 14 Co NrrNUotJsfi REINFORCED CONCRETE PAVING APPARATUS This invention is an improvement over applicants U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,296, granted Jul. 18, i967.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is characterized in that the transversely spaced guidemembers-are mounted rearwardly of the location at which fluid concrete is placed on the road site and forwardly of the concrete finishing means of the paving machine, each said member including a first portion located in the fluid concrete mass at the vertical elevation and transverse spacing required for a respective reinforcing rod and a second portion extending arcuately forwardly and vertically from said first portion so as to be disposed adjacent one surface of the concrete mass for receiving and guiding a respective reinforcing rod placed on or THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical section showing concrete paving formed pursuant to a first embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the rod placing members of said first embodiment, the view being taken substantially on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section of one of said members, the view being taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a second embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 of one of the concrete placing members of the FIG. 4 embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1, l have diagrammatically depicted the mode of paving pursuant to the invention. In the illustration, the bottom line represents the upper surface of the previously prepared road site on which a concrete roadway or highway is to be laid. It is to be understood that side forms are provided at each side of the site to confine the concrete against lateral spreading and to define the side edges of the finished slab. The basic machinery used (in addition 'to the side forms) comprises any conventional strike off means 10, vibrating means 12 and finishing means 14 which perform their functions in the enumerated sequence on raw concrete dumped into the space between the side forms forwardly of the strike off. Preferably, the rod placing assembly provided by this invention, which is indicated generally at 16, is located between the strike off hand the vibrator means 12 in the vicinity of the latter.

Inasmuch as concrete paving apparatus takes a wide variety of forms, from multicomponent machines comprised of a plurality of units operating independently on a common pair of stationary side forms, to totally integrated slip-form machines operating on subgrade and carrying their own side forms; and the components of these machines vary widely as to the particular means utilized for depositing, roughly strikingoff, densifying and finishing the concrete; and this invention is applicable to all such machinery; l have simply given a rough illustration of concrete paving components and the generally preferred relative location of my rod placing apparatus. Consequently, as used herein, the terms concrete paving apparatus, machines and machinery are to be taken in a broad context.

In accordance with the invention, a plurality of rod placing members, 18 are mountedto the rear of the strike off 10, the same extending'downwardly into the fluid concrete mass in the vicinity of the vibrator means 12. The members 18 may take a variety of forms, as will presently appear, and each serves as a guide for a respective one of a plurality of substantially continuous reinforcing rod elements, indicated at 20, the members each including surface portions disposed at substantially the respective elevations above the site and below the finishing means and at the respective transverse spacings specified for the reinforcing rods in the finished concrete slab.

The required number of reinforcing elements 20 are laid out of the road site forwardly of the paving machinery and preferably are each progressively fabricated into continuous form directly on the site from individual lengths of reinforcing rods united together in essentially end-to-end relation in any suitable manner, such for example as welding or overlap splicing..This step or operation may be performed substantially continuously directly on the site at any desired distance forwardly of and essentially in pace with the movements of the paving machinery so that the paving machinery acts on seemingly continuous reinforcing elements.

The number, size and spacing of the elements 20 will vary according to the nature of the work and the engineering specifications therefor. As specified by the architect or engineer, the required number of elements of the required size are assembled on the site forwardly of the machinery and laid on the site in essentially parallel relation, though no great care is required in this respect.

Transverse bars or supports are of practically no structural value in continuously reinforced concrete paving, except as may be required at planned construction joints and emergency joints. The planned construction joints are usually widely spaced, for example, a mile or more, and with proper equipment maintenance and raw material supply facilities emergency stops or joints in paving should be infrequent. Thus, long continuous lengths of the reinforcing elements 20 may be laid out on the site (extending from planned construction joint to planned construction joint) without obstruction for convenient automatic placing by the paving machinery of this invention.

The rod locating or placing members 18 are constructed, mounted and/or adjusted so that the same are affixed at the transverse spacings specified for the requisite number of rods, and include a final rod placing surface located at the elevation or spacing above the site (or below the surface of the finished paving) specified therefor by the architect or engineer. Each member receives a respective reinforcing element and acts on progressive longitudinal portions thereof as the machinery is moved along the site.

Loads of raw concrete are dumped between the side forms forwardly of the strike off 10 from batching machines or pavers, or from mixer trucks or dump trucks operating on the shoulders of the site, or any way known in the art.

As the paving machinery moves forwardly, the strike off 10 preliminarily levels the deposited mass of concrete 22 to a level slightly greater than that of the finished pavement. The vibrator means 12 acts upon the concrete to densify it and to bring some of the fines and some of the water in the mix to the surface. The means 12 imparts vibration to a volume of the concrete in the vicinity thereof, especially to the entire thickness of the semifluid or plastic mass over an area extending from side form to side form and from a location forwardly of said means to a location rearwardly of said means. This vibration serves to compact and densify the concrete mass and to eliminate voids or air pockets therein.

According to this invention, the guides 18 for the rod elements 20 are preferably located adjacent or within the volume of concrete so vibrated whereby the concrete will be densified in, around and beneath the reinforcing elements while they are positively guided. Consequently, when the members 18' such for example as by pressing, extruding and/or massaging;

an extrusion meter 14 being depicted in FIG. 1 for the purpose.

Depending upon the apparatus employed, the nature or character of the concrete mix, and the specific results to be obtained, the guides 18 for the reinforcing elements 20 may extend adjacent the vibrated portion of the concrete mass, into the vibrated portion thereof, and/or adjacent or beneath the leading end portion of the finishing means. Field conditions will ultimately dictate the precise positioning of the guides, but in any event, the guides will correctly position the reinforcing rods in the concrete, and in some instances hold the rods until the concrete is partly finished or compacted about the rods, so that the rods may be released (by forward movement of the guides) and thereafter be sustained at their intended locations in the mass with the concrete bonded thereabout.

After passage of the paving elements, there is left behind a finished concrete highway 24 having the proper continuous longitudinal reinforcing imbedded and locked therein. The machinery operates continuously and in an entirely conventional manner, with the exception of the steps of assembling the continuous rod elements on the site forwardly of the machine, supporting the elements by the means 18 during passage of part of the machinery and the leaving behind of a fully reinforced slab. The sped and efficiency of modern concrete laying procedures and equipment are not only not diminished, but actually enhanced by this new capacity for direct incorporation of continuous longitudinal reinforcement.

As the machinery approaches each planned construction joint, it is a relatively simple matter to terminate the reinforcing elements for connection in the transverse bench means and/or expansion-contraction joint structure specified for the highway, to raise the rod placing assembly 16 for movement over the joint structure, and to lower the assembly on the other side of the joint for reception and passage of the next set of substantially continuous reinforcing rod elements. These are substantially the operations necessary for passage over any planned construction joint, and do not detract from the effectiveness and/or practical use of the present invention.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, the raw concrete is dumped directly on top of the reinforcing rods 20 as they lay on a road site and the purpose of the rod placing assembly 16 is to raise the rods to the proper height and locate them at the proper transfer spacings. For this purpose, each of the members 18 comprises a short arcuate member having a curved upper peripheral surface in which is formed a in which is or channel 30 having a base wall and a pair of sidewalls so dimensioned as to complement a respective one of the rods.

Each of the arcuate members 18 is mounted on a thin knifelike member or plate 32 which depends from a common mounting beam 34. All of the plates 32 are fixed to the beam in spaced parallel relation at the spacings specified for the reinforcing rods, and the beam is adjustably mounted on the paving machine in known manner to facilitate vertical adjustment of the members 18 to the elevations specified for the rods.

Each member 18 includes a first portion in its channel or groove, notably the apex of the base wall of the groove, which defines the location of final placement of the respective rod, and a second portion extending arcuately forwardly and vertically from said first portion at a downward inclination toward the road site. The leading ends of the rods are inserted through the grooves and locked in the transverse bench of the construction joint, the rods thereafter being anchored against longitudinal movement by the construction joint and the mass of concrete compacted thereabout. As the machine advances over the site, the inclined or curved leading portion of each member 18 picks up the respective rod and raises it upwardly in the fluid mass, and simultaneously shifts it sideward if necessary, to cause each progressive pan of the rod to be brought to the apex of the respective guide member 18. In this manner, the rod becomes fixedly anchored at the proper elevation and the proper transverse spacing in the concrete mass.

If the members 18 are disposed in the vicinity of vibrator 12, the concrete will also be vibrated about the rods to cause the concrete to be intimately densified about the rods, especially as the apex of the arcuate member 18 moves forwardly and opens up a trailing part of the groove to entry of concrete beneath the rod.

To aid in moving the rods from the site to the proper location in the mass, it may prove desirable to move the members 18 in a vertical stroking or tamping action, to make the members as rotating wheels and/or to vibrate the members to impart vibrations to the rods and thereby cause the rods to more or less snake" their way through the concrete into proper position. As a preferred structure, I have shown the common mounting beam 34 equipped with a plurality of vibrators 36. Depending upon the respective types of the vibrating means 12 and the vibrators 36, and the location of the rod placing members 18 relative to the vibrating means 12, one or the other of the vibrators may be eliminated. However, I prefer separate vibrators for performance of the two functions of (a) vibrating the rods through the concrete and into desired position, and (b) vibrating the concrete mass to densify the mass and compact the concrete about the rods.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the machine includes a concrete placer 10A which serves to place the concrete on the site and level it to an approximate depth. With this machine, I prefer to carry the reinforcing rods 20 upwardly over the placer, to. lay them on top of the concrete, and then to push them down to their final location within the mass of fluid concrete. For this purpose, the rod placing assembly 16A is substantially identical to that above described, except that the rod placing members 18A are inverted. Specifically, the lower surface of the member is now grooved, the apex of the groove (its first portion) is its lowest point, and the portion of the groove forwardly of the apex (its second portion") extends or is inclined to curved upwardly toward the top of the concrete mass whereby to guide and thrust the rods downwardly into the fluid mass to their final intended positions. As before, these members may be arcuate shoes (as shown), similarly formed shoes, or rotary wheels, and are preferably tamped up and down and/or vibrated by appropriate mechanisms 36A associated with a common mounting beam 34A.

By virtue of the invention, the rods are placed both vertically and horizontally to their specified locations in the concrete with the rods left in fixed position after which, or at which time, the concrete may be compacted about the rods and finished by an extrusion meter 14 or the like. In this manner, continuously reinforced paving is produced in a single pass.

While I have shown and described what I regard to be the preferred embodiments of my invention, is to be appreciated that various changes, rearrangements and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In concrete paving apparatus movable along a rod site and including means for placing, leveling and finishing fluid concrete deposited on the site, and a plurality of spaced parallel reinforcing rod placement members forwardly of said finishing means for immersion in the fluid concrete, of the number and at the transverse spacings specified for reinforcing rods to be imbedded in the concrete, the improvement comprising rod placement members rearwardly of the concrete placing means and forwardly of the finishing means each having a rod guiding groove disposed longitdinally of the site and including a first port on adapted to be immersed in the fluid concrete and located at the vertical elevation and the transverse spacing required for a respective reinforcing rod and a second portion extending arcuately forwardly and vertically from said first portion so as to be disposed adjacent one surface of the concrete, each said portion including a base wall and sidewalls for receiving a respective rod placed on or adjacent said one surface of the concrete and for guiding the rod from said one surface to its final intended position in the concrete, both vertically and horizontally, as the machine advances along the road site.

2. In the apparatus of claim I, said base and sidewalls of the grooves in said members facing upwardly and said second portions thereof extending arcuately downwardly toward the road site from said first portions for picking up and placing in the concrete successive portions of reinforcing rods previously laid on the site.

3. In the apparatus of claim 1, said base and sidewalls of the grooves in said members facing downwardly and said second portions thereof extending arcuately upwardly from said first portions in the direction of the top surface of the concrete mass for forcing downwardly and placing in the concrete successive portions of reinforcing rods laid on the top surface of the mass ahead of said members.

4. In the apparatus of claim 1, means for moving said members within the mass of concrete to aid'in moving the rods to their positions of final placement.

5. In the apparatus of claim 1, said members each comprising a short unitary arcuate shoe having a U-shaped channel in 

1. In concrete paving apparatus movable along a rod site and including means for placing, leveling and finishing fluid concrete deposited on the site, and a plurality of spaced parallel reinforcing rod placement members forwardly of said finishing means for immersion in the fluid concrete, of the number and at the transverse spacings specified for reinforcing rods to be imbedded in the concrete, the improvement comprising rod placement members rearwardly of the concrete placing means and forwardly of the finishing means each having a rod guiding groove disposed longitdinally of the site and including a first portion adapted to be immersed in the fluid concrete and located at the vertical elevation and the transverse spacing required for a respective reinforcing rod and a second portion extending arcuately forwardly and vertically from said first portion so as to be disposed adjacent one surface of the concrete, each said portion including a base wall and sidewalls for receiving a respective rod placed on or adjacent said one surface of the concrete and for guiding the rod from said one surface to its final intended position in the concrete, both vertically and horizontally, as the machine advances along the road site.
 2. In the apparatus of claim 1, said base and sidewalls of the grooves in said members facing upwardly and said second portions thereof extending arcuately downwardly toward the road site from said first portions for picking up and placing in the concrete successive portions of reinforcing rods previously laid on the site.
 3. In the apparatus of claim 1, said base and sidewalls of the grooves in said members facing downwardly and said second portions thereof extending arcuately upwardly from said first portions in the direction of the top surface of the concrete mass for forcing downwardly and placing in the concrete successive portions of reinforcing rods laid on the top surface of the mass ahead of said members.
 4. In the apparatus of claim 1, means for moving said members within the mass of concrete to aid in moving the rods to their positions of final placement.
 5. In the apparatus of claim 1, said members each comprising a short unitary arcuate shoe having a U-shaped channel in its periphery.
 6. In the apparatus of claim 5, means for moving said members within the mass of concrete.
 7. In the apparatus of claim 5, a beam on the machine extending transversely of the road site, a plurality of spaced parallel fingers depending from said beam and each supporting a respective one of said members, and means for vibrating said beam to vibrate said members and thereby aid in moving the rods through the concrete to their positions of final placement. 